The Issue: People tend to respond differently to requests based on their relationship to the person, their physical attractiveness, and similarities.
Major Strength: As usual, I enjoyed Cialdini’s examples in each section. I liked his example of the successful car saleman that sent “I like you” postcards to his customers. I never thought a simple card once a month could have such a huge affect. In fact, I would find it rather bothersome and wasteful. However, Cialdini pointed out the power of flattery and compliments.
Major Weakness: I have no idea what a Tupperware party is and am not really sure if I understood correctly. Cialdini should have explained first what that sort of party is before giving it as an example. Instead, he explained it in parts while explaining the liking rule. Cialdini makes it seem like looks gets a person really far in life. They’re more intellectual, have better personality and are more liked. Is this when people aren’t well acquainted with the person? I’ve seen many pretty people that have horrible personalities…
Underlying Assumption: Liking someone can influence a person’s decision. It’s true that the halo effect exists and people can make assumptions simply by the appearance of a person or any other favoring factor. Compliments and similarities help persuade a person to respond in the other’s favor.
Provocative Questions:
I didn’t like hearing about the court trials ending in favor for certain people simply because they were attractive. In order to cancel out the halo effect, is it possible to have a trial without the judge or jurors being able to see what the person on trial looks like? Sounds ridiculous, yes, but it’ll be fair. Is there another way to prevent the halo effect in court, therefore justice is served.